Your appeal MUST be received by the Commission within 21 days following the date
of the decision.

3.

Does the 21 day
appeal period include Saturdays, Sundays and holidays?

Yes. Weekends and
holidays are included in the calculation of the 21 day appeal
period. As an example, if a decision you wish to appeal was made on
the 1st day of the month, your signed and completed Notice of Appeal
form must have been received by the Commission not later than the
22nd day of the same month. However, if the 21st day falls on
a day on which the Commission's office is closed, subsection 23(3)
of the
Interpretation Act extends the
deadline to the next day that the Commission's office is open.

4.

How many days do I have to appeal if I only first find out about a decision a
couple of weeks after it has been made?

An example
of a Commission Order considering the 21-day filing deadline
is LA07-07.

5.

Can I fax my
completed Notice of Appeal form to the Commission?

Yes. The
Commission's fax number is 902-566-4076.

6.

Can I email my
completed Notice of Appeal form to the Commission?

Yes, however you
must ensure that the emailed form is signed. You may scan a
signed Notice of Appeal and email the scanned version. If you
email an unsigned but otherwise complete Notice of Appeal, you must
afterwards follow up with a signed Notice of Appeal by fax, email or
personal delivery.

7.

Can I send my
completed Notice of Appeal form to the Commission by ordinary mail?

Yes, but allow
plenty of extra time for delivery. Do not rely on typical or usual
delivery times. If you send your Notice of Appeal form to the
Commission by ordinary mail, you must accept the risk that the
Commission may not receive your Notice of Appeal within the 21 day
appeal period and the Commission will then be unable to hear your
appeal! If you are approaching the end of the 21 day appeal period,
personal delivery or faxing your signed and completed Notice of
Appeal form is crucial to preserve your right to appeal.

8.

Can I appeal the bylaws or regulations themselves if I don't think that they
are fair?

No. The Commission does not have the legal authority to change bylaws or
regulations. The Commission's role is to determine whether the bylaws or regulations
were correctly applied when the municipal council or the Minister made the decision.

9.

What are some common examples of decisions that I could appeal under the
Planning Act?

Some examples of typical appeals include decisions to grant, or not to grant: a
building or development permit, a rezoning request, preliminary approval of a subdivision,
and variances from the bylaws or regulations.

Do I need to use the Commission's Notice of Appeal form when I file an
appeal?

While not absolutely necessary,
it is very helpful to use the Commission's Notice of Appeal. Using the
form will help you to comply with the requirements for a notice of
appeal set out in
section 28 of the Planning Act.

A copy of the
Notice of Appeal Form, in PDF format, can be obtained by clicking here.

13.

Do I need to give reasons for my appeal on the Notice of Appeal form? Do I need
to state what I want the Commission to do if my appeal is granted?

Yes. Under subsection 28(5) of the
Planning Act, a notice of appeal must be in writing and must state the grounds
(reasons) for appeal and the relief (assistance or redress) that you seek from the
Commission.

14.

Do I need to provide a copy of the Notice of Appeal to
anyone else?

Yes. You are required, within seven
days of filing an appeal with the Commission, to serve a copy of
the notice of appeal on the council or the Minister, as the case
may be.

15.

I have filed an appeal with the Commission but I would like to see if the other
party and I could resolve our differences. Can the Commission help with this?

Yes. The Commission can provide a mediation process.

Mediation is
an informal dispute resolution method in which a neutral person, the mediator, helps
disputing parties to reach an agreement. All parties to a dispute must be willing to
participate in the process, and the mediator has no power to impose a decision on the
parties. If the Commission considers it appropriate to offer mediation services, it will
check to see if the parties are interested in mediation. If the parties request mediation,
a member of the Commission's staff will serve as the mediator. If the efforts at
mediation are unsuccessful, the matter may still proceed to an appeal hearing before the
Commission and the Commission's order will be binding. If you have questions about
mediation, please feel free to contact Philip Rafuse, Appeals
Administrator @ 902-892-3501 or PEI toll-free @ 1-800-501-6268. The
Commission's postal address, fax number and related information can be accessed here.

16.

Do I need a lawyer to represent me on an appeal?

You are not required to have a lawyer on a
Planning Act appeal. However, you are
entitled to hire a lawyer to advise or represent you. You are responsible for paying your
lawyer's fees.

The Canadian
legal system recognizes that a person has the right to legal representation when appearing
before a court or tribunal.

17.

How much time will it take for the Commission to hear my appeal?

The length of the appeal process varies depending
upon several factors including:

the
length of time it takes for the Commission to receive requested file information;

the
complexity of the issues;

the
availability of a hearing date for which all the parties are available; and

whether
the parties request and agree on an abeyance, which effectively places the appeal process
on "hold".

18.

If I file an appeal, will I get a copy of the other parties' documents?

Yes. Documents that are filed with the Commission by a party to an appeal are
copied and distributed to the other parties on that appeal.

19.

Can I present photographs to the Commission as part of my evidence?

Yes. If possible, photographs shall be provided to the Commission with sufficient
copies for all parties.

20.

How many copies
of documents do I need to provide to the Commission?

For Planning Act
appeals, the Commission requires 6 copies. Make sure you keep
an additional copy for yourself.

21.

Are hearings before the Commission open to the public?

Yes. The public may attend the hearing, and Planning Act appeal hearings are
usually advertised in a newspaper and are posted here
on the Commission's website.

22.

Can a witness
testify in private?

No. A witness
presents his or her testimony at a public hearing.

23.

Are Commission
hearings broadcasted?

Most Planning Act
appeal hearings are broadcast on the web by the Commission.

It depends on the matter. Some appeal
hearings take less than a half day, while
others may take a whole day. A very complex hearing may require several
days.

25.

Can my appeal hearing be postponed?

Yes, with the approval of the Commission and for special reasons such as illness
or severe weather. It is important to contact the Commission as soon as possible so that
the other parties can be notified.

26.

Can I speak to,
or send mail or email to, the Commission panel members for my
appeal?

During the
hearing, you may speak to the panel about relevant matters to your
appeal. However, it is not appropriate to contact the
Commission panel members outside
the hearing room. This is to avoid any possibility of bias or
impression of preferential treatment. You should contact
Commission staff if you need assistance or have questions.

27.

The Commission heard my appeal a week ago and I just thought of something
important to add concerning my appeal. Can I send a letter containing this information to
the Commission?

No, unless the Commission requests written submissions or further information
from the parties following the hearing, the Commission makes its decision based on the
evidence and submissions presented at the hearing. It is important to carefully prepare
for the hearing.

28.

How long will I have to wait for the written decision?

The wait period for the written decision
following the conclusion of the hearing depends on the complexity of the matters under appeal and the
Commission's schedule.

29.

Does the Commission make its decisions available to the public?

Yes. Planning Act appeal decisions (formally called "orders") are
published here on the Commission's
website.

30.

What can I do if I don't agree with the Commission's decision?

You can seek a review or appeal. Attached to the Commission's Order is a
Notice explaining the procedure to follow.

12. The Commission may, in its absolute discretion, review, rescind or
vary any order or decision made by it or rehear any application before deciding it.

Parties to this proceeding
seeking a review of the Commission's decision or order in this matter may do so by filing
with the Commission, at the earliest date, a written Request for Review, which clearly
states the reasons for the review and the nature of the relief sought.

13.(1) An appeal
lies from a decision or order of the Commission to the
Court of Appeal upon a question of law or jurisdiction.

(2) The appeal shall be made by filing a notice of appeal
in the Court of Appeal within twenty days after the decision or
order appealed from and the Civil Procedure Rules respecting appeals apply with the
necessary changes.

31.

I have heard of something called jurisdiction. What does jurisdiction
mean and why is it important?

In a nutshell, the term
"jurisdiction" refers to whether courts and
tribunals (such as the Commission) have the legal power to hear and decide a particular
appeal.

I applied for and received a
permit for my development. Can I start my development right away, or
should I wait?

Make sure you
post your building, development, subdivision or other permit as
required by the authority who issued the permit. You may start
the project once you have received the permit. If you proceed
while an appeal is still possible, you do however run the risk of
suffering a loss if an appeal against your project is successful.